Collection Summary: An interview of Helen Williams Drutt English conducted 1991 July 5-1991 Oct. 20, by Darrel Sewell and Marina Pacini, for the Archives of American Art Philadelphia Project.

Drutt (English) discusses her family background and education; the gallery scene in Philadelphia from the 1950s to the 1980s; crafts in Philadelphia and the formation of the Philadelphia Council of Professional Craftsmen; teaching the history of crafts at Philadelphia College of Art and Moore College of Art; exhibitions she organized as the director of the art gallery at Moore College of Art; opening the Helen Drutt Gallery in 1974; artists she represented; exhibitions; and working with various crafts organizations to purchase crafts for the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics, and administrators.

Funding for the digital preservation of this interview was provided by a grant from the Save America's Treasures Program of the National Park Service.

How to Use this Interview

Transcript: microfilm reel 4777 available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.

Transcript: Patrons must use microfilm copy.

The transcript of this interview is in the public domain and may be used without permission. Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Helen Williams Drutt (English), 1991 July 5-Oct. 20, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution

For more information on using the Archives’ resources, see the FAQ or Ask Us.

Also in the Archives

Interview Transcript

This transcript is in the public domain and may be used without permission. Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Helen Williams Drutt (English), 1991 July 5-Oct. 20, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Note: This typewritten transcript was scanned and run through optical character recognition software (OCR). However, the resulting OCR text has not been reviewed or edited for accuracy.

This transcript is in the public domain and may be used without permission. Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Helen Williams Drutt (English), 1991 July 5-Oct. 20, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.